The ELeague Major Has Been Overshadowed By The Tragedy of Timing

All eyes are on the teams and players competing at the ELeague major, but this time for outside of the typical tournament narrative. Reliable sources have highlighted that four top tier teams will be shuffling their line-ups immediately following ELeague – unfortunate timing for the integrity of the tournament.

It is widely understood that Robin “flusha” Rönnquist and Jesper “JW” Wecksell will follow their former Godsent teammate Freddy “KRiMZ” Johansson back to Fnatic to rejoin Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer and Dennis “dennis” Edman. Godsent had originally acquired the three Fnatic stars in the summer of 2016 following some subpar team performances.

Source: Fnatic

The French powerhouses EnVyUs seem to think they may have finally found their winning formula, coming up with what is being described as the “French Dream Team.” This lineup will feature Nathan “NBK” Schmitt, Dan “apEX” Madesclaire, Kenny “kennyS” Schrub, and Richard “shox” Papillon. It is believed that Edouard “Smithzz” Dubourdeaux will (at long last) be hanging up the scope and taking on the role of coach.

Source: Vayzail

It’s widely accepted amongst the CS:GO community that the Fnatic/Godsent split was a costly error for both parties, and that perhaps the magical formula that the French have been grasping at in the dark for all this time simply doesn’t exist, yet the real tragedy here is the tragedy of timing.

With the way the Legends and Challengers system works, both of these shuffles present indefinite “what ifs” for both the Swedes and the Frenchmen. To paraphrase Thorin’s question, what if Godsent and Fnatic end up facing off for the final Legends spot?

After the players witnessed what transpired in the case of iBuyPower, it is extremely unlikely that any of the players or teams in question would outright throw a match – but it is impossible to suggest that the implications of the future roster switch wouldn’t have affected the outcome of matches.

it's insane to think that 1/4 of the teams at the Major potentially already know that they're shuffling rosters straight after

These questions over-shadowed the start of the ELeague major; Valve and tournament organizers certainly have cause to put preventative measures in place such that tragic events like this can never unfold so close to events in the future. The biggest major yet, the first major CS event to be broadcasted on live television, and one-fourth of the competitors are gearing up to play in teams that don’t currently exist.